Julie Bishop slaps down Karl Stefanovic over PM dig
Today show host Karl Stefanovic’s attempt to skewer Julie Bishop fell flat in an interview this morning as the Foreign Minister fired back with a shot of her own.
Following the failed Liberal leadership spill yesterday – where Malcolm Turnbull narrowly emerged victorious over former Homer Affair minister Peter Dutton – Stefanovic asked the deputy leader: “What’s it like to talk to a man on death row?”
Not missing a beat, Bishop quipped back: “Well, I’m talking to you so what are you suggesting?”
Bishop went on to insist Mr Turnbull would unify the party, and denied the 48 to 35 vote margin was worrying for the Prime Minister.
“A win of 13 votes in leadership contests is an endorsement. You know about sporting contests – if you win, you win,” she said.
Bishop also made easy work of David Koch on Sunrise when he tried to ask her about her own leadership ambitions.
After Bishop replied with the same message of loyalty to Turnbull, Kochie invited her to come back on “in a few days” when another challenge has been predicted.
She knew exactly how to change the course of the conversation. Playing to his AFL allegiances as chairman of Port Adelaide, she replied: “Why don’t you have me on again and we can talk about footy?”
Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage poked fun at Kochie, saying: “She knows how to change your direction, doesn’t she?”